Maine parents who want Critical Race Theory and other noxious species of political indoctrination banished from their K-12 public schools were counting on Republican state legislators to help them push back against the Left’s malignant agenda.
What a shock to these parents when those lawmakers slapped them across the face last week!
For the second time in as many years, the Maine Legislature is considering legislation to enact a statewide Code of Ethics for K-12 teachers in public schools.
Sponsored by Rep. Micky Carmichael of Greenbush, LD 550, “Resolve, Directing the State Board of Education To Adopt Rules Prohibiting Teachers in Public Schools from Engaging in Political, Ideological or Religious Advocacy in the Classroom,” is based on model legislation drafted by the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
The bill explicitly bans singling out one racial group of students as responsible for the suffering or inequities experienced by another racial group of students. LD 550 mandates that teachers refrain from partisanship, and present both sides of any controversial issue that comes up in class.
During the public hearing the week before last, the Education committee heard compelling testimony from scores of Mainers who are disgusted with the rampant racial stereotyping and racial scapegoating that goes on in public school classrooms.
The heart-felt, fact-based testimony came from parents in school districts across the state, imploring legislators to pass LD 550. Eighty-four percent of the 78 pieces of testimony submitted to the committee were in support of the bill, from Mainers in 40 different towns.
The opposition came not from individuals or parents, but from Leftist institutional swamp critters, most notably the teachers’ union and the ACLU.
When it came time for the Democrat committee members to vote on the bill during last week’s work session, they unsurprisingly voted in lockstep: ought not to pass.
Republicans also voted in lockstep, but not to pass the bill before them. They chose instead to throw the bill in the legislative shredder and replace it with a toothless requirement that teachers get annual training on how to handle controversial issues in the classroom.
Democrats must be having a good laugh at our expense after watching this pathetic spectacle. “Hey, look at that! The stupid Republicans think the swamp is gonna drain itself.”
Our team apparently learned nothing from what happened two years ago, during the last session of the Maine Legislature.
In February of 2019, Republican members of the Education committee voted to kill the same bill in committee in exchange for a promise that a lobbying organization for school superintendents would send a letter to all the districts reminding them to be fair and balanced in classroom discussions of current events.
How did that work out?
Judging by the testimony submitted to the committee, the depth and extent of political and ideological indoctrination in K-12 classrooms across Maine is worse, much worse than it was two years ago. In fact, it’s crossed the line from indoctrination to brainwashing in many districts.
To be clear, the pending legislation has no chance of being enacted even if Republican legislators had brains and backbones. With solid Democrat majorities in both houses of the Legislature and an unreconstructed 1960s radical who’s been on the government payroll her entire adult life now residing in the Blaine House, Maine is suffering from one-party rule by aspiring totalitarians.
The purpose of introducing legislation such as LD 550 is to get a public hearing so constituents can submit testimony that becomes part of the permanent public record. From the committee the bill moves to the floor of the Legislature for a robust debate, followed by a recorded roll call vote. That vote then becomes ammunition for our team to fire at vulnerable incumbents in the 2022 election cycle.
This isn’t rocket science or quantum mechanics. It’s Politics 101. Why is that so hard for Republican legislators and their leaders to understand?
In any case, don’t despair. The Maine House and Senate will still have an opportunity for a straight up-or-down vote on LD 550, as long as the sponsor and co-sponsors insist on a floor debate and a roll call vote.
The problem is that the lack of Republican support for the bill in committee gives a green light to weak-kneed GOP legislators to vote against the bill. After all, none of the Republicans on the Education committee supported the bill: why should I? And the committee vote makes it easier for House GOP leadership to pressure the caucus into letting the bill go under the hammer without debate or a roll call.
You can help make sure that doesn’t happen.
I’m asking you to contact the co-sponsors to thank them for their leadership. Please encourage them to stay the course in the face of whatever obstacles are thrown in their path. They may be our only hope of getting LD 550 to the floor for debate and a roll call vote:
Rep. Josanne Dolloff (Milton Township)
josanne.dolloff@yahoo.com
(207) 357-3346
Rep. Jack Ducharme (Madison)
jack.ducharme58@gmail.com
(207) 696-5526
Rep. Abby Griffin (Glenburn)
abjimgrif@hotmail.com
(207) 403-3671
Rep. Rick Mason (Lisbon)
ckmasonexcavation@gmail.com
(207) 577-1001
Rep. Jennifer Poirier (Skowhegan)
jlpoirier@beeline-online.net
(207) 474-3783
I’m also asking that you contact Rep. Carmichael to thank him for his leadership, and encourage him to press for a roll call vote:
Rep. Micky Carmichael (Greenbush)
cartrans6@gmail.com
(207) 287-1440
Finally, please consider investing in our work at Maine First Project. Whether it’s $10, $25, $50, $100, or whatever you can afford, your gift will ensure that Maine First Project continues to grow its reach and influence on behalf of the forgotten Mainers who’ve been shoved aside by Augusta’s elites.
Best Regards,
Larry
Lawrence Lockman, R-Bradley
Maine House of Representatives, 2012-2020
Co-founder & President
Maine First Project
PS Republican legislators in Maine are showing the rest of the country how NOT to be effective advocates for parents who want political indoctrination banished from their K-12 public schools.
Last week, GOP members of the Education committee sprinted for the tall grass rather than standing up on the battlefield and fighting for their constituents. It was a disgraceful retreat.
If they keep it up, they are assuring the GOP permanent minority status at the Statehouse.
But the battle is far from over. We have time to regroup and go on offense in this fight.
You can help make that happen by contacting the co-sponsors of LD 550 and encouraging them to stand their ground.
As always, thanks for all you do every day to make Maine such a special place!
